ECU Europa; 10 countries

The ECU (European Currency Unit) was introduced as a basket currency by the European Monetary System in 1979, not intended for circulation but used in interbank settlements and as a unit of account. Monnaie de Paris seized on the unit's symbolic weight to produce medal-grade collector pieces throughout the 1980s, this 1983 issue marking ten participating member states at a moment when the EMS was still proving skeptics wrong after Britain's conspicuous refusal to join the exchange rate mechanism.

Florentine bronze — a matte-surfaced alloy finished by controlled oxidation — was a deliberate choice for the series, referencing the Florentine florin's historical role as medieval Europe's first widely accepted cross-border trade currency.